Elevator mechanism for conveyers



Oct. 16, 1928.

H. l. LAHR ELEVATOR MECHANISM FOR CONVBYERS Filed Feb. 2, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet album,

Oct. 16, 1928. I I l,687,573

- H. l. LAHR ELEVATOR MECHANISM FOR CONVEYERS ELEVATOR MECHANISM FOR CONVEYERS Filed Feb. 2, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 H. l. LAHR ELEVATOR MECHANISM FOR- 'CONV EYERS Oct. 16, 1928.

5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 2, 1925 Savant ""W mm H. l. LAHR ELEVATOR MECHANISM FOMGNVEYERS Filed Feb. 2, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet Patented Oct. 16, 1928.

HARRY r. LAfi'R, er 'wansvvoit'rii; oiifd; Asin or wAbewe-mn; deli-o,- A eeei enman o1" 0111b.

Application tiled- Tehrua-ry 2,1925; Serial No. 6X34.

This invention relates to, an aB etQemeehanis'iii, or elevating and transterring device, f r use cu y n qonne ien wit 01 Veyer nechanisms for match maehines of e t -Sh iitb eqpend i epi l e tion of Harry I. Lahr and Orlq S wvartz filed November 8, 192%, Serial 743,7;58, patented August 2 1,.1 928 N0. 1,681-,863, but t Will. b pe ien h th dev ce 9f the-i fiil u t lefm uI c i us. i stan tlOIlS Where it is desired to raise articles tron one level to another and to transfer them from the: position to vvhich, they are elevated to some point adjacent to such p( )s-ition.

i T he i t fi em d m nt of the,. n q shown in the aecoinpanying drawings and hereinafter described is an elevator mechanism for elevating bones of matches from" the level" their discharge from a match boxing machine to the level of a travelling cdnveyer or the like, and for picking them' up box b bQ as hey e fi Yig di mov n h out lot the elevator shatt a depositingthem upon the conveyer beltor the like arranged inproxiinity to the shaft;

The invention consists in an elevator mechanism co p i ng, sse t y, an a, ele at-d shaft and means associated therewith for feeding articles onegby one into tlie shaft;

means being provided in combination with the elevator shaft for raising the articl es fed thei einto step by step to a predetermined height, and mechanism arranged incooperatiVei'elation to the upper end of the elevator shaft and adapted to grasp the aiticl S, lle." vated in said shaftone by one suecessively,

and move themeutp'f said shaft; and release them at a point outside of said shaft where they may he picked up by a travelling eonf veyer or otherwise handled, as I Will proceed w toee ein n fina lycl i 1 In the accompanying drawings the n enti n, i the e a "fig res t whi h like parts are similarly designated, Figure l is a side elevation of thedevicepfthe nven n n, a p ti n of t e-1 po l d ve i ifl lli m t f fon a d, f i tt n of. a i li ble titreng q nv y'e f r. i i 9nn ti m there-Wi h- Fig 1s a e na e i v t nef. ltt n of e v m shaft and l jvat r..m ha1 m i-t tdi' l o f edi ert le gi t the shaft-i 3 .i a 'ettiena .elevet enht he transfer device or piek-up mechanism arthe le atorsh ifi; it Th her arm relied attire upperfoidischarge end of the sha t,aii'dshowing its parts retracted 01' p ck-up, position Fig.- 4 is a View similar to F g; 3., but show ng thejparts of the pick-up mechanism in advanced or discharging'posi tion Fig- Bis, a plan view of the pick-up mechanism. Fig-,6 is a. section taken on the line of; Fig.-- 4;:; Fig, 7 is'a section-taken on the line 7 of Fig; 4 am Fig. 8 isasee tion taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 4. Fig.- 9

is a frontelevationof the; partsshdwn in Fig.

2 looking toward the right;v Fig;10isa per s'peetive view of, r the reciprocating "elevator mechanism for imparting the s'te elevating movement to the articles in the ele vatqrshaft, Fig.- l-l is a; perspective view of the type of friction clutch member-used; Fig! 12is a; perspective View. of the latclismemb eii' The articles to be elevated by the mech anism, in the specific embodiment shown, boxes of matches indicated in dotted outline at 1; (Figs, 1' and are progressively moved into a chu'te' 1 in which they are successively picked up by a pusher member 2havin'gi a dowiiturned end 3; and pushed therebj into a vertical elevator shaft 4 through which they areelvated to a pick-up mechanism b by a which they maybe deposited upon a travel chain and sprocket or other appropriate gear-' ing" 14;,- 15 16 from a suitable source ofpdwer, such; in the particular embodiment of the in vention shown,'as the drive ofpa; match m-a chine proper or a match bok filling and sliding ma'chine. It will be seen that-by this vcorinectionran pseillatory -.mQVB-Iln nt istimstep partedto th shaft s a d is the levers 7 and' 1 78 carried thereby; The lever 7 is connected l yvm nsef; ul nkli ith. 911 mm 8 f ll, e lan lev r,p vote.d @119 i braeket O thisib l mnkle er is. hivqtzil yeqmi ctedgi 22 with the pusher member 2 and, when 6sc1lidly mounted on the frame of the machine:

but vertically adjustable by means of slot and bolt connection 29.: 1 Mounted upon sir'ne ilar slides 30 carried in gibs 31 on the front of the elevator-sh afti4 is an elevator plate=32- (see particularly Figs. 2, 9 and 10) vertically slidable within the elevator shaft 4 and 'h'a v ing a box carryingportion33. Movement is imparted. tothe frame formedby the slides 'by means of a li-nk 34 connected there to" and deriving reciprocatory movement;

from an eccentric connection at 11 with the disk 12, link lO.

As .wi-ll'zbe -seen, the elevator plate 32 is substantially aL shaped and is pivoted at' its upper end'upon a pivot 35b orne in sides 30 and is provided with an'arm 36 connected by atension spring 37 with; the slides 30. This elevator plate is also provided with a stopmember188. -A weighted latch member 39 pivoted: at 4O e-Xtends into" thejshaft 4 a position therein to receive boxes of matches raised by the elevator plate 32.

The lever'8'is connected by a link 41 with a slide 42(see particularly Figs. 3 to 8) mounted upon and embracing a slideway 43 and carrying at its forwa-i'd'end an abutment 5 piece 44' adapted to contact'with the articles ascending the shaft 4. Also carried by the slide42 v but having a limited longitudinal movement with respect thereto is an arm-45 pivoted at 46 in bearings 47 carried by a plate 48 mounted in guides 49 in thesli-de 42. The plate 48vis moved forward to thepos'ition shown in Fig, 4 by its cooperation with the article indicated at (Z through the instrumen tality of the pusher piece 44 rigidly carried by; the slide 42 and pushing against the article d, and is retracted by means'of a' r bridge piece "50 carried by the slide42, and

Which-cooperates with an adjustable c0115 tact member 51 carried by the plate 48 and provided with elongated bolt holes 52 through which pass bolts 53 threaded intothe plate I 48 and providing-for itsadjustmentfi The outward end of the arm 45 is provided with a downturned grasping piece 54,-and

its inner end is provided with a leve'r55 car rying a rod 56 which' passesthrough a fric- 'tion clutch member illustratedindetail in Fig. 11', This friction clutch member com: prises a U-shaped frame 57 carrying-atone end a fixed friction member58 provided with a screwthreaded pivot stud orbxtension 59 passing through an arm 60 carried the: I

in the same manner asft he I I an archmember 71 supported by the elevator bracket 5 and secured thereto by means of a nut 61. The frame 57 is also provided with an adjustable friction member 62 having a boss 63 for, centering a, spring 64which'abuts against a thumb nut 65 carried by an ad ust "ing screw 66 threaded through and in screwthread'ed engagement; with the end member 67 ;of theframe, 57. Alock nut 68 is provided for the outerend of the screw 66 to :maintain a fixed adjustment.

just described and operates in substantially the same manner.

- The arin-"45 provided upon its upper 1 surface" with a roller '69 adapted to strike against astriker plate 7 0 rigidly carried by shaft 4." v v The mechanism just' described comprises the pickup or transfer mechanism b hereinbefore referred to.

-'The ope'ration'of this elevator and pick-up mechani'sr'n issubstantially as follows z As articles (for example, boxes of matches) are shown, a'smatch box filling and sliding machine, and the bell crank lever 18 is oscillated, thepusher member 2, having its fdownturned end 8 in position to engagebehin'd an article, w-illpush this article, and those ahead of it, toward the elevator shaft 4 (Sims ing'the article nearest to the'shaft to topple overand downward into the shaft and come its operating mechanism of crank, disk 12, link 34 and slides 30, ascends to such a height merit ofthe'latch' member with its lower surj to rest upon the portion-83 of' the elevator plate 32. Now, the elevator plate, through face,-and, duringitsupward movement, will have-elevated allof the articlespreviously fedto" and already elevated in the shaft, a

elevator plate are actuated, the pickup mech.-' anism will operate to: grasp the uppermost distance equal to' its own height. At the same time that thepusher memberand the article in the shaft, move it outward, andg; drop it at a point adjacent to the elevator shaft, for example, upon'the'conveyer '0;

Going now" more into detail in the mode 7 of operation'of'these various mechanisms, iit will be'seen that as thepushermember 2 "moves'the articles toward the elevator shaft,

the frictionclutch member'24 rwill be slid" along the rod 25. VVhen'fhoWever, there'- turn inovenientof the pnsher memb rZ takes Leszsvs ward impulse imparted to it by the lever 21 will, by reason of the frictional engagement of the clutch member 24 upon the rod 25, cause itto move downwardly about its pivot 22 to position to advance another article,

. and the articles ahead of same, as its forward movement is continued.

As the elevator plate 32 ascends, it will, as above stated, carry with it the article.

which has been deposited upon it by the pushermember 2, and as the article thus carried is elevated past the latch member 39, it will strike the latch member and move it outwardly until it passes above it. In order that thea-rticle carried by the elevator plate may pass with ease above the latch member 39-, the elevator plate is pivoted at 35, as-

above descrilbed, and is normally springpressed by the spring 37 into the position shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 10, butis capable of movement upon its pivot so that a part of the movement necessary for the article to travel upwardly past the latch member may be taken up by the elevator plate, and

a part of it by the latch member 39. Also,

if, through any misalinement of the latch member 39 or of the elevator plate, it should happen that the notch 33 is out of alinement with the latch member, no disruption of the mechanism will occur upon the downward movement of the elevator plate, but, on the contrary, by turning upon its pivot 35 during its descent, it will be able to clear the latch member 39 without jamming. Movement of the elevator plate 32 upon its pivot 35 is limited by the cooperation of the lever 36 with thesto-p 38. As hereinbefore indicated,-each article elevated. in the shaft 4 by means of the elevator plate 32, causes those articles already in the shaft above it, to be raised a lieightequal to the height of the article,thus bringing the article uppermost in the shaft into position to be grasped by the pick-up mechanism 5 and deposited thereby as hereinbefore indicated and now explained in detail. The. operation of the pick-up mechanism -is as follows:The slide 42 in theforward movement of itsreciprocatiomas imparted by means of the link 41 and lever8, will cause its abutment member 44 to strike against the the arm 45, the arm 45 being meanwhile held against movement by means of its connection through the rod '56 with the friction slutc'h device 61; The lost motion connection hereinabove described, and comprising the plate 48 sliding in guides 49 in the slide 42 and having its sliding movement limited by the bridge piece 50 and contact member 51 permits this relative movement, and the friction device 61 is sufliciently strong in its grip uponthe rod 56 to provide an appreciable grasping pressure between the parts 44and 54.. This grasping pressure is suflicient to permit of the article being gripped and transferred from the elevator shaft to a position approximately as shown in Figs. 1, 4 and 5 outside of the elevator shaft, and over the travelling conveyer c. The initial portion of the re turn movement of the lever 8 will first cause the abutment piece 44 to be withdrawn fron'r contact with the article, and will thus permit the article to drop from between it and the part 54, the arm 45 being held stationary meanwhile'by means of the co-operation of the rod 56 with the friction clutch member 61. The continued return movement of the lever 8 will cause the lost motion between the slide 42-and the plate 48 to be taken up, thebridg'e piece 50 strikingagainst the contact member 51, thus causing the plate 48 to be moved backward along with the slide 42. During this retraction of the plate 48, it will be obvious that the friction clutch member 61, at all times exerting a retarding influence upon the movement of the rod 56, will prevent movement through it of the led 56 and will cause the lever 55 and arm 45 to turn upon pivot 46, 7 thereby raising the arm 45 about the pivot 46 until the roller 69 strikes against the striker plate so as to clear articles deposited upon the conveyer belt a. The continued return of the slide member 42, and with it of'the arm 45, will force the rod. 56 to slide through the friction clutch member 61, the roller 69 meanwhile riding along under surface of the striker plate 70 and being finally cammed down to its initial operative position as shown in Fig. 3.

Obviously this operation will be continuous so long as the machine is operatechand articles are. fed into the elevator shaft through arrangement of these various moving parts from the same source (thecrank disk 12) and the interconnection of the various linkages and levers by which they areoperated therefrom, the pusher membellQy elevator plate 32, and pick-up mechanism 5 will be actuated in timed relation to eachother so as to produce a uniform cycle of operations in the handling of the articles.

It will thus be apparent that I provide a mechanism well suited to the purpose for whichit is designed, and eminently capable of handling a great many articles in uniform order, no matter how rapidly they may be presented to it; I a

Various changes in details of construction and arrangement of parts are contemplated as Within the spirit of the invention and the scope ofthe following claims.

What I claim is V 1. In an elevator mechanism for conveyers, an elevator shaft, means for introducing articles into said shaft, means associated with said shaft for imparting a step by step elevating movement to said articles, and means arranged in operative relation to said shaft for grasping said articles one by one as they are elevated and transferring them from said shaft to a position outside thereof and adjacent thereto and then releasing them.

'2. In an elevator mechanism for conveyers, an elevator having an inlet opening and a discharge opening, means arranged adjacent to said inlet opening for introducing articles into said shaft, means associated with said shaft for imparting a step-by-step elevating movement tosaid articles, and means ar-" ranged in operative relation to said discharge opening for grasping said articles one by one as they are elevated and transferring.

them from said shaft to a position outside thereof and adjacent thereto and then releasing them.

3. In an elevator mechanism for conveyers, j

an elevator shaft having an inlet opening and a discharge opening, a guide chute arranged adjacent to said inlet opening and through which articles are fetl one by one to said shaft, means associated with said shaft for imparting a step by step elevating movement to the articles fed thereto, and means arranged in operative relation to said discharge opening for grasping said articles one by one as they are elevated and transferring them from said shaft to a position outside thereof and 7 adjacent thereto and then releasing them.

I. .In an elevator mechanism for conveyers, an elevator shaft having an inlet opening and a discharge opening, a guide chute communicating with said inlet opening and adapted to receive articles in regular order,

feed means associated with said chute for intermittently feeding said articles one by one into said shaft through said inlet opening, vertically reciprocating means arranged in said shaft for imparting a step by step elevating movement to the articles fed thereto,

'means for imparting reciprocatory movement to sald reciprocating means in timed relation to the movement of said feeding:

means, pick-up means arranged in operative relation to said discharge opening for grasping said articles one by one as they are elevated and transferring them from saidshaft to a position outside thereof and then releas ing them, and means for imparting reciprocatory movement to said pick-up means in timed relation to the operation of said feeding means and. said elevatin means.

said chute for feeding said articles one by one into said shaft through said inlet open ing and including a reciprocating rpusher member, means arranged in said shaftfor imparting a stepby step elevatingmovement to the articles fed thereto'through said inlet opening, a-pick-up mechanism'arranged in operative relation to said discharge opening and adapted to pick up said articles one by one as they are elevated and discharge them from said shaft and including a reciprocating grasping mechanism,andmeans for imparting. reciprocation to said feed means, elevating Imeans and pick-up mechanism in 'timed relation toeach other. 1 v I 6. In an elevator mechanism'for conveyers, an elevator shaft having aninlet opening and a discharge opening, means for feeding articles into 'said shaft through said inlet opening,

grasp an oppositeportion'of said article to move the same out of said shaft.

7. In an elevator mechanism for conveyers,

an elevator. shaft'having an inlet opening and a' (:lischarge opening, means for feeding means associated 'with said shaft for impartinga step'by step elevating movement to said articles, and pick-up means arranged inoperative relation to said discharge openarticles into-said shaft through said inlet' opening, means associated with said shaft for imparting a step by step elevating movement to said articles, and p1cK-up means arranged 1 in operative relation to said discharge opening and lncluding a reciprocatingmember adapted to engage with one portion-of an article'anda grasping member carried by saidreciprocating memberand arranged in conjunction with said engaging member to grasp an; opposite portion of said article to amove the same out ofsaid shaft and then release it. I

8. In an elevator mechanism for conveyers, an. elevator shaft having an inlet opening and a discharge opening, means for feeding articles into said shaft through said inlet opening, means for elevating said articles step by step in said shaft, and piclvup mechanism arran'ged inoperative relation to said discharge openingxand comprising a reciprocable member car ying means for graspingan article upon its opposite. sides for the pur-:.

pose :of' discharging it from said shaftf- 9..In. an elevator mechanism for-convey ers, an elevator shaft having an inlet opening and a discharge opening, means for feeding articles into said shaft through said inlet opening, means for elevating said articles step by step in said shaft, and pick-up mechanism arranged in operative relation to said discharge opening and comprising a reciprocable member carrying means for grasping an article upon one of its sides, a grasping member carried by said reciprocable member and capable of a limited reciprocable movement with relation thereto for grasping said article upon its opposite side, and means for imparting reciprocation to said reciprocable member in timed relation to the operation of said feeding means and said elevating means.

10. In an elevator mechanism for conveyers, an elevator shaft having an inlet opening and a discharge opening, means forfeeding articles into said shaft through said inlet opening means for elevating said articles step by step in said shaft, and pickup mechanism arranged in operative relation to saic discharge opening and comprising a reciprocable member carrying means for grasping an article upon one of its sides, a pivoted grasping member carried by said reciprocable member and capable of a limited reciprocable movement with relation thereto for grasping said article upon its opposite side, means for imparting reciprocation to said reciprocable member, and means for imparting movement to said grasping member about its pivot in response to the reciprocation of said reciprocable member. V

11. In an elevator mechanism for conveyers, an elevator shaft having an inlet opening and a discharge opening, means for feeding articles into said shaft through said inlet opening, means for elevating said articles step by step in said shaft, and pick-up mechanism arranged in operative relation to said discharge opening and comprising a reciprocable member carrying means for grasping an article upon one of its sides, a pivoted grasping member carried by said reciprocable member and capable of a limited reciprocable movement with relation thereto for grasping said article upon its opposite side, means for imparting reciprocation to said reciprocable member, means for imparting movement to said grasping member about its pivot in response to the reciprocation of said reciprocable member, and means for limiting pivotal movement of said grasping member. Y

12. In an elevator mechanism for conveyers, an elevator shaft having an ing and a discharge opening, means including a. rcciprocable pusher for feeding arti-' cles one by one into said shaft through said inlet opening, means including a reciprocable elevator member for imparting step by step elevating movement to the articles in said said sliding member, a friction clutch, and

means interposed between said pivoted grasping member and said friction clutch whereby said grasping member is caused to remain stationary during a portion of the movement of the slide in one direction to grasp an article, and is swung upon its pivot during a portion of the movement of the slide in the opposite direction to release said article.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 29th dayof January,A. D. 1925.

HARRY I. LAIIR.

inlet open- 

